


The Bonds That Tie Us

by sahiya



Series: The Bonds That Tie Us [1]
Category: White Collar
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Soul Bond
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-28
Updated: 2013-07-28
Packaged: 2017-12-21 14:04:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/901140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sahiya/pseuds/sahiya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One of Neal’s greatest advantages as a con man was the ability to spot other people’s bonds.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Bonds That Tie Us

**Author's Note:**

  * For [magistrate](https://archiveofourown.org/users/magistrate/gifts).



> Thanks to Fuzzyboo for beta reading!

One of Neal’s greatest advantages as a con man was the ability to spot other people’s bonds. It wasn’t anything he could _see_ ; it was like a sixth sense. He could look at two people, and no matter what, just _know_ whether they were bonded or not, in which direction the bond ran, and, if it was mutual, which side it was stronger on. 

Bonds said a lot about a person, so the first thing Neal did when he walked into the white collar office on his first day of work, trailing behind a still-fuming Peter, was figure out who was linked to Peter. Not having met Elizabeth Burke yet, Neal couldn’t be a hundred percent sure that Peter was bonded to his wife, but he thought it was pretty damn likely. He also thought it was possible he’d find that Peter didn’t have any other bonds; he wasn’t exactly the warm and fuzzy type. 

What Neal found in the office blew him away. 

The only bond that Peter himself had was to his supervisor, Reese Hughes. But almost every other person that Neal could see was bonded to Peter himself. The bonds varied considerably in strength, but they were all there. 

_Damn_ , was all Neal could think. There would be no easy way to play anyone in the office against Peter. Not that Neal had specific plans in that direction yet, but he would’ve felt better knowing it was at least possible. 

Over the next few weeks, while Neal strained at his leash, wishing he could spend even a few minutes in Kate’s presence, he watched Peter. He’d never met anyone who’d attracted so many bonds. He was like a magnet. Neal wanted to know why, because it wasn’t immediately obvious. Peter was rough around the edges and occasionally an asshole. He made terrible puns, and Neal did not love his propensity for joking about putting him back in prison. 

On the other hand, Neal didn’t think he’d ever met anyone in his life who was more trustworthy or reliable. That might have said something about the company Neal had kept thus far, but he thought it also said something about Peter Burke. Beneath the gruff exterior, Peter lived up to his name: he was a rock. 

Despite realizing all of this, despite working as closely with Peter as Neal had ever worked with anyone, it wasn’t until after the mess at the Howser Clinic that he realized what was really going on. That afternoon was an unpleasant, nauseated blur when Neal finally came back to himself on the Burkes’ sofa. But certain things weren’t. Such as the part where he’d looked at Peter and told him he was the only person he trusted. Not Mozzie, to whom Neal had been bonded for years. Not Kate. _Peter_.

“Fuck,” he said aloud. 

“Language,” Elizabeth Burke’s voice said mildly. Neal looked over and saw that she was perched on the edge of their coffee table, watching him. “How’re you feeling?”

“Like someone shot me full of horse tranquilizers,” Neal mumbled. 

Elizabeth winced in sympathy. “I’d offer you painkillers, but you probably shouldn’t have any more drugs. Would you like some water?”

“Yes, please,” Neal said, grimacing. The inside of his mouth tasted bad enough that he wondered if he’d puked. He didn’t remember puking, but that didn’t mean much. 

Elizabeth got him a glass from the kitchen, then came back and seated herself on the coffee table again. Neal sipped at the water, then decided to try closing his eyes and not moving. Not only might it help his headache, but Elizabeth might leave him alone. He was still a little high from the drugs, and she was pretty much the last person he wanted to lose control in front of. He really didn’t know what he might say to her.

No such luck. “Peter’s upstairs on the phone,” Elizabeth offered after a moment. “Do you want me to get him?”

“No!” Neal blurted out, too quickly. He snapped his mouth shut. 

“Hmm,” Elizabeth said, eyeing him. 

“I mean, I don’t want to bother him,” Neal amended, knowing it was too little, too late. 

“Of course not,” Elizabeth said dryly. She shook her head. “I wasn’t going to bring this up, but if I’m not mistaken, it seems you might’ve finally bought a clue.”

“Uh,” Neal said. “Yeah. Maybe. How long’ve you known?”

Elizabeth shrugged. “Since before I met you, I think. I knew it was only a matter of time. It’s okay, you know. It happens to - well, not everyone Peter meets, but a startling number of people.”

Neal pushed himself up so that he wasn’t lying completely flat on his back. “It doesn’t bother you?” he asked. He and Kate were bonded to each other. She dealt okay with the fact that he and Mozzie were also bonded, but Neal had always secretly enjoyed being Kate’s only living bond. 

Elizabeth shook her head. “No. It means I married a kind and decent man. It doesn’t threaten my relationship with him, for others to be bonded to him. Besides, what good would it do if it did?”

Neal nodded, a little dubiously. “And he doesn’t bond back easily, does he? You and Hughes are the only ones I’ve noticed. And his parents, I suppose, not that I’ve met them. Is that it for him?”

Elizabeth didn’t answer immediately. She was watching Neal closely. He fought the urge to squirm. “It used to be,” she said at last. 

“Used to be?” he repeated, frowning. Had he missed something recently? That would be unlike him. Maybe Diana? Peter was very fond of her, but Neal didn’t think it was anything more than that. Diana was deeply bonded to Peter, of course, but Neal had been certain it didn’t run both ways. 

Unless . . .

“What? No,” Neal said, shaking his head and immediately wishing he hadn’t when it swam. “No, no, you have it wrong.”

“I don’t,” Elizabeth said, quietly. “I don’t have your skills, Neal, but I know Peter.”

“My skills?” Neal said. She gave him a look. Neal winced. He hadn’t thought that was in his FBI file, but if Elizabeth knew, then Peter had to know, and if Peter knew, then so did the Bureau. “Right. Um. Sorry.” 

“I know Peter,” Elizabeth repeated. “Better than he knows himself sometimes. I’m not wrong.”

Neal didn’t know what to say. It was too much, on top of everything else that had happened that day. His head was still pounding from whatever they’d given him. But he remembered the sensation of Peter’s hand in his hair, remembered Peter stealing the security tape for him, and knew that Elizabeth had it right. The only real question was how Neal himself had missed it.

Probably the same way he’d missed his own bond. He hadn’t wanted to know. 

Elizabeth was still watching him. “It doesn’t bother me that you’ve bonded,” she said. “Peter and I are bonded, too, and we have ten years of marriage to stand on besides. You couldn’t steal him from me if you wanted to, and I don’t think you do. Do you?” 

Neal shook his head. 

“Good,” Elizabeth said. “To be honest, it actually makes me feel better, knowing that I don’t have to worry about you hurting him.”

Just the idea made Neal feel sick. “I would never.”

She smiled at him. “I know. It’s okay, Neal. A bond is a good thing.”

Neal managed a smile in return. “Yeah,” he said. “It’s a good thing.” 

Except that now, when Neal imagined himself running, there was a lump of lead in the pit of his stomach. And when he thought about running for Kate versus staying for Peter, which was a choice he was pretty sure he’d have to make eventually, the lump of lead got heavier. 

Footsteps on the stairs made Neal glance up. Peter came down, cell phone in hand. “Hey, you’re awake,” he said, catching sight of Neal. Out of the corner of his eye, Neal saw El quietly get up and go into the kitchen.

“Unfortunately,” Neal said with a grimace. “How much trouble am I in?”

“Miraculously, none,” Peter said, seating himself in the armchair by Neal’s head. “The Howser Clinic doesn’t seem to be reporting the break-in. I guess the last thing they want right now is a bunch of cops poking around. Besides,” he added, “the evidence seems to have gone missing.”

“About that,” Neal said, carefully. “Peter, I -”

Peter reached out and put his hand carefully on Neal’s head, threading his fingers through Neal’s hair. “Don’t,” he said quietly. “That’s how this works, isn’t it?”

Neal swallowed. He ignored, for the moment, the lump of lead in his stomach. “Yeah,” he said quietly. “I guess it is.”

_Fin._


End file.
